Access PEI offer shades to those waiting in 'extensive' Charlottetown lineups

New COVID-19 measures developed to maintain physical distance among customers have caused lineups outside shops and services on P.E.I., including long lineups at Access PEI's Charlottetown office. 

Officials there worried that in the middle of P.E.I.'s current heat wave, people could be vulnerable to the sun, so they've set up tents along the side of the building to offer some reprieve to those in line.

"It's 27 degrees, you're walking into the building and there's 20 or 30 people in your lineup and so you're trying to maintain a safe environment in light of [COVID-19] inside your building, and now you have to refocus and look outside your building to make sure people aren't suffering from other things like heat stroke," said Mark Arsenault, director of Access PEI.

In addition to tents, Arsenault said staff are also providing water to people while they wait. If people look uncomfortable or need assistance while in lineups, staff are on site to help.

"In Charlottetown where we've had, you know, extensive lineups of people waiting for over an hour — we had to make an adjustment," Arsenault said. 

He said the adjustments for the unexpected heat wave have come as staff continue to plan for COVID-19 contingencies for staff and clients into the fall and winter.

It's possible clients may be able to wait in their vehicles and use a device like a buzzer that will alert them to come in, he said, similar to what is offered by some restaurants or pharmacies, but those plans are still in the early stages. 

"We're just trying to find a way that, you know, we can be flexible in delivering services to Islanders in these uncertain times."

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